


In Your Shoes

by Resistance



Category: NASCAR RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 11:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2347436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resistance/pseuds/Resistance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kasey offers some advice that Kyle doesn't want to hear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Your Shoes

**Author's Note:**

> This is set just after Chicagoland, September 14th 2014.
> 
> Kyle placed third, Jeff second, Kasey thirteenth.

“Kyle....” Kasey was not looking forward to this talk, but he couldn’t sit idly by and watch it happen to someone else. Watch it happen and know that he would be forced to turn around and say nice things to the camera if the wanted to keep his ride.

Kyle looked up from his phone and sighed. Kasey did all he could not to laugh, he knew that sigh, he’d had it himself plenty of times. Not as much recently, but even now, after all these years, he found it again sometimes.

“No, none of that. Do you have a minute to talk?” Kasey glanced down at the other chair at the table Kyle was sitting at, but he didn’t take it without invitation.

“Sure. As long as you promise not to congratulate me for not winning a race. That’s so weird. People keep telling me what a great job I did, but I didn’t win. I didn’t do a great job. I did okay until I sucked.”

Kasey sat down across from him, “I know what you mean. I’ll just say you did have a pretty good race, but yeah, you’ll have a better one. That’s not what I wanted to talk about, though. I saw a lot of your press after the race.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow, “You did? Did I say something stupid? I try not to but--”

“No, I just....” Kasey sighed, “Can I give you some advice that you didn’t ask for?”

Kyle’s surprised look grew and Kasey could tell that Kyle was thinking about how much better he had finished the race than Kasey had. He tried not to laugh, but he was sure he failed, at least in his eyes, which was usually what gave him away. He wished he’d put his sunglasses back on.

“Uh... sure?” Kyle answered, his tone skeptical.

Kasey shook his head, “Not about the race, about.... Jeff.”

Kyle’s cheeks flushed bright red and a knot formed in the pit of Kasey’s stomach. To say he was having flashbacks wasn’t a strong enough word and he hoped he didn’t look as green as he felt.

“I.... he just.... I, he gave me.... he just _talked_. That’s it.” Kyle fell all over his words and looked anywhere but Kasey’s eyes without making it look like he was looking anywhere but Kasey’s eyes.

“Yeah.... it always starts like that. The praise. You remind him of himself. And you have a great future ahead of you. _Kevin_. Because he has to remind you that you’re not really important, he doesn’t have to learn your name quite yet because who knows if you’ll be around long. But _maybe_.... if he graces you with his advice and help... you could become the next him.” Kasey took in a deep breath, “But it’s not that simple.”

Kyle looked down at the phone in his hands, but Kasey could see the screen had gone black and he let him escape his gaze while he turned over in his head how familiar everything he said sounded.

It was a long moment before he spoke, “He....” Kyle sighed, “Personal experience?”

Kasey nodded, “Jeff looks for someone he can.... mold into who he wants at the moment. Someone who will look up to him and talk about how much he taught them and all he did for them. But it’s not just that. You can’t ever beat him directly. If you’re racing one on one, he will drive you right into the wall without a thought. He’ll--”

“The Brickyard?”

Kasey laughed a little, coldly, “Yeah. You think that he’s won so many times and you haven’t, that he knows how badly you need that win and he doesn’t need it. And maybe he’ll help you. But more than that, you think you matter to him. You might even think you’re special. He might have told you that. But when it comes down to it, he doesn’t care about anybody but himself. And, Kyle, I’m not even saying that’s a _bad_ thing, I mean we’re all out there to win, but I don’t want you to think that he’s going to do anything for you. I don’t want you to find out the way I did.”

Kyle frowned, keeping his eyes on the black screen of his phone, “Did you....?”

“ _No_. Not that he didn’t try, but I.... I have a complicated situation.”

Kyle looked up at him, quizzically, “What does that mean? I thought you were single.”

“It means it’s complicated. Did you?” Kasey asked carefully. If that didn’t change the subject off of Eric, he was going to have to get more direct and that was the last thing either of them wanted.

Kyle let his eyes fall back to his hands, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. It was more than obvious that he didn’t want to answer the question, but Kasey couldn’t think of anything else to say that would let him off the hook, so they both sat in hollow silence until Kyle finally looked up at him.

“ _Yeah_.”

The word hung in the air until Kasey broke the silence, “Does it help to know you’re not the first one?”

Kyle scoffed, “Not really.” He picked up his cup, but the ice had long since melted and watered down his drink. It was just Coke anyway, it wasn’t going to help. A small part of him wished he could throw the drink at Kasey, but it wasn’t his fault. He was only trying to help. The problem was, it didn’t help, it made him feel worse. He put the cup back down. “But... thanks....” He offered.

Kasey sighed, “I’m sorry. I just didn’t--”

“I know.” Kyle interrupted him, “I know. I just... I just need to think, okay?”

Kasey stood up, right away, “You have my number.”

Kyle looked up at him, “Why do you still stay nice things about him?”

A humorless laugh escaped Kasey’s lips, “We’re supposed to be a cohesive unit. That’s the Hendrick way. A little BS, a little party line, it’s worth keeping my ride and staying on my team. There’s nothing else he can do to me now, it doesn’t matter what I have to say. And Dale and Jimmie.... they do help, sometimes. When they can help themselves first. Or else they commiserate, which is just as good.”

“I think I’ll want to talk about this more later. Is that okay?” Kyle’s tone was very cautious and it made Kasey feel even worse for him.

He nodded, “Any time. I mean it. And Kyle? You are good. If you weren’t such a nice guy, I could hate you.” Kasey offered a small smile.

Kyle wanted to smile back, but he didn’t have it. He settled on nodding, “Thank you.”

Kasey took his cue to leave him alone, turning to head off towards his trailer. He had hoped talking to Kyle would make him feel better, would ease the guilt of knowing that because he wouldn’t play along anymore, Jeff had moved on to this kid. It hadn’t helped. The pit was still in his stomach. And now he knew that same pit was in Kyle’s stomach too.

It made him feel _worse_.


End file.
